At the Duke UniversityHealthy Lifestyles Program, a nationally known comprehensive clinical and behaviorallifestyle-modification program for overweight and obese children, 81 obese girls were divided randomly into three groups. One group was given an “intervention” book in which an overweight girl “discovers improvedhealth and self-efficacy” while a second group was given a “control” book without a health lesson. The third group didn’t get a book.

The results were startling: “Girls who read either book had a significantly greaterreduction in BMI percentile … than girls who werefollowed in the program but who were not assigned a book,” while “There was a significantlygreater reduction in BMI percentile among those in the intervention-bookgroup … versus those in the control-book group.” The researchers concluded: “Age-appropriate fiction, particularly if it addresses health-oriented behaviors, shows potential for augmenting weight loss in girls who participate in a weight-management program. Future researchis needed to determine if the novel is effective for healthylifestyle promotion among all overweight and obese adolescents.” say the authors of the report